RAS question
The Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary is in which district?
Correct answer: (C) Jaisalmer (Desert NP).
The Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary referred to in this RAS question is Desert National Park Sanctuary in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan.
Explanation
The answer is Jaisalmer because the question points to the Great Indian Bustard site identified with Desert National Park. The Rajasthan Forest Department's Project Great Indian Bustard page says the conservation programme was launched for the remaining population of the Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard and was taken up initially in DNP Sanctuary, located in Jaisalmer district. The same page describes the Great Indian Bustard as the flagship species of Desert National Park Sanctuary. Desert National Park in Jaisalmer is the primary habitat for the species, whose surviving population is only about 120-150 individuals, with power-line collision noted as a major threat.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Bikaner is not the district linked by the Rajasthan Forest Department's Project Great Indian Bustard page to the initial Project Bustard site at Desert National Park Sanctuary.
- (B) Barmer is not the keyed answer here because the MCQ asks for the Great Indian Bustard sanctuary as identified with Desert National Park in Jaisalmer.
- (D) Jodhpur is wrong because the Rajasthan Forest Department's Project Great Indian Bustard page places the relevant DNP Sanctuary site in Jaisalmer district, not Jodhpur.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan protected areas and flagship species, a recurring RAS Geography theme because sanctuary-location pairs are used to link biodiversity with district geography. Great Indian Bustard questions also recur because the species is Critically Endangered and closely associated with Rajasthan's desert ecosystem.